FNAF Strategies and Tips

Detailed tips on animatronics, their behaviors, and surviving all five (or seven) nights.

Introduction

Hey everyone! This is a guide intended for players who already know the basics and are eager to know extra tips to help them get better. If you don't know the basic controls of the game or the general idea of it, I suggest visiting another guide first and then coming back to this one. I hope you learn some valuable tips to be ready for Freddy!

EDIT: This guide seems to be getting more attention recently, awesome! I've updated it, making it somewhat more concise and adding a bit of new information. I might update it further, so stay tuned!

EDIT: This guide's activity seems to have calmed down, and I've added all I needed to say for now. As of this point, the guide should be finished, and unless marked otherwise, all updates will likely be minor or nonexistent.

Thank you all for the comments, awards, ratings, and support!

Now, onto the guide.

General Tips

Have the sound on! Even though it may be scary, animatronics have various sound cues that will make gameplay much easier (footsteps whenever animatronics move, Freddy's laugh, etc.). I've tried playing without sound and I've never gotten far.

Check your door lights all the time! Especially later in the nights, where animatronics become faster and more unpredictable.

When you open the monitor, the door lights automatically shut off, so you don't need to waste an extra second to turn them off. The same is not true for the doors, which stay shut regardless if the monitor is on!

Only use the doors when absolutely needed! closing them needlessly only wastes power. More on that later in the guide.

Each night lasts approximately 8 minutes and 55 seconds. On mobile, it's about half that length.

Don't worry if the power goes out before it reaches 6 AM; especially in later nights, you'll almost definitely of run out of power before the night is over. Refer to the Power section for more info!

Less important information:
Tap Freddy's nose on the poster in the office to hear a small honk. It's utterly useless, but it's fun to do.

In the earlier nights, if you have time and the animatronic movements are slow, you can read the rules in CAM 4B. They're kind of entertaining.

Animatronics

Bonnie

He comes from the left door only.
His movement patterns are usually somewhat random, but his rooms are:
Show Stage (Cam 1A)
Dining Room (1B)
Backstage (5)
West Hallway (2A)
Supply Closet (3)
West Corner (2B)

Even though his scattered movements may be intimidating, he is only a direct threat when he is in your door. Though you should check the lights often, cameras are often not necessary to deal with him. You can't directly see if he's gone after you close the door, but does cast a small shadow just right of the door itself— keep an eye out for that (or the lack of it). If the left door and light button don't work, it means that Bonnie has crept into the office. He will attack the next time you close the camera, or if you look at the camera for too long. If you hear human-like moaning while the left door is open and your camera is up, that means Bonnie's inside the office (you're toast).

Chica

She comes from the right door only.
Her movement patterns are usually more uniform and tend to head straight for your door. Her rooms are:
Show Stage (1A)
Dining Room (1B)
Restrooms (7)
Kitchen (6)
East Hallway (4A)
East Corner (4B)

Like Bonnie, she isn't too dangerous unless she's right outside your door. Since she appears in the window, you can directly see if she has gone from the door. Remember to check the lights often! If the right door and light don't work, she has crept in like Bonnie. When she is in the kitchen, you can hear loud banging of pots and pans, so if you hear those sounds, you don't need to check the right door (but be aware that she's close).

Foxy

He comes from the left door only.
Now, Foxy is a bit different. Instead of randomly moving through the rooms, he has a set pattern. his two rooms are:
Pirate Cove (1C)
West Hall (2A)





He moves based on how often you check the camera. If you do not check them often enough, he will move. Checking the camera too much is better than checking them too little. The camera does not need to be focused on Pirate Cove for this effect to work! Checking every 2-3 seconds should be enough.
Foxy has 4 different stages in Pirate Cove that he goes through in order before he sprints towards your door, pictured below:



When Foxy is gone, do not check the West Hall yet! Doing so will trigger his sprint, which will give you barely enough time to close the door. After you see that he's gone, you may have up to 20 seconds before he actually arrives at your door. Still, it's better to immediately close the left door, then look at the West Hall to trigger his sprint. Otherwise, you would need to wait with the door closed until he strikes on his own, which is a waste of your power AND your attention.

After you hear the first bang, it will be safe to open the door. When you check on Pirate Cove again, he should be back at his first stage (or second stage, if the game decides to be brutal. This can happen in the later nights). Each time he bangs on the door, you lose more and more power each time, so try to keep him at bay by checking the cameras frequently.

Freddy
He comes from the right door in normal play, but from the left after the power goes out.
His movement is usually straightforward. Identical to Chica, his rooms are:
Show Stage (1A)
Dining Room (1B)
Restrooms (7)
Kitchen (6)
East Hallway (4A)
East Corner (4B)

Ah... The worst animatronic for last, though thankfully, he doesn't move until the third night. One of the most challenging things about Freddy is that he doesn't show up at your door at all. If he is at the East Hall corner, treat it as if he's at your door since he is only one step away from your office. Every time he moves, a low pitched laugh will sound. His music box will play when he is in the kitchen. Usually, his small white eyes can only be seen on the camera, so you will have to look closely to see him. Whenever the cameras are facing him or you are not looking at the cameras at all, he cannot move into your office— use this to your advantage. He can, however, move when the cameras are on but not focused on him, so be aware when you are switching through the cameras. If he happens to sneak in, he will not attack immediately. Instead, he will wait for a while, and sometimes he will attack when both doors are closed, giving the impression that he teleported in. If you are checking the cameras, the right door is open, and you hear a laugh, Freddy has probably entered the room. See ways to manage him in the Patterns section.

Golden Freddy
Even though you probably will not encounter him, I feel that I should include this animatronic.
Unlike the rest of the animatronics, he does not have any rooms. Instead, he will be activated if the poster on the west hall corner shows a yellow Freddy face(which happens very rarely). If you lower the camera, he will appear in your office. If you reopen your camera, he will disappear, but if you keep looking at him, he will eventually kill you and crash your game.

General tips
Sometimes footsteps will sound when an animatronic moves.

Sometimes, carnival music or Foxy's singing will play in the background, which seems to activate randomly and isn't a sign of any particular activity.

Nights

Night 1
This night is the easiest of them all. Animatronics are usually slow, and Freddy never moves from the stage. Foxy rarely appears, but he can be a threat if not checked at all. Bonnie is the main threat here, as he is the most active in the early nights. The rest aren't an issue.

Night 2
Still easy, but watch out. As the week progresses, the nights slowly get harder. Even though Freddy still never moves from the stage, Foxy and the rest of the animatronics will start to get more active. Check Foxy more frequently, and keep tabs on everyone.

Night 3
This is where it starts to get real. Freddy will start moving, and the animatronics are more active still. Rely less on your camera and more on door lights.

Night 4
All animatronics will be active, and they will be even quicker. Camera use should be kept to a minimum, and only should be used to check Foxy and Freddy's whereabouts since Bonnie and Chica are not a threat unless they are at your door. Keep using the door lights frequently!

Night 5
The "last" night. You will need to be on your guard constantly, and one wrong move could spell defeat. This is where you should revert to "The Patterns" which I will discuss in the next section of the guide.

Night 6
If you managed to defeat the 5th night, this night, even harder than the last, will unlock. Use the Patterns and stay vigilant.

Night 7
This is a custom night, so the difficulty depends on what level you set the animatronics to. If you choose 0 for all, they will not move much or at all throughout the entire night. Bonnie may show up at your door a couple of times, and Chica does get close, but Freddy and Foxy are usually nothing to worry about. If you choose 20 for all, then you will have to be very careful, and even a half-second of hesitation could mean your death. Refer to the Patterns.

The Patterns

These two patterns, created and made famous by the Youtubers listed below, are the most efficient ways to deal with the later nights (yes, I did take their ideas, but hey... They do work).

First Pattern
Created by BigBug and made famous by Markiplier, this pattern is as follows:

Set the camera to Pirate Cove
Check left door light
Check right door light
Close right door to keep Freddy out
Check Pirate Cove only
Open right door
Repeat

PROS:
This pattern allows you to constantly check Foxy's status and to keep Freddy (and possibly Chica) out when you check the cameras.
CONS:
A small amount of power is wasted each time you close the right door. Depending on how long you take, this pattern might take you too long to execute, thus enabling Bonnie (or, less likely, Chica) to sneak in.

Second Pattern
Created by mrbuu423 and made famous by Kevin Kevin, this pattern is as follows:

Set the camera to East Hall Corner
Flip the camera on and off very fast and frequently
While doing so, check the left and right door light
Every hour or so, close the right door and check Pirate Cove
repeat

PROS:
This pattern is more power efficient. It virtually disables Freddy completely and is a partial watch on Chica.
CONS:
This pattern is a little more risky to execute, and you cannot constantly monitor Foxy.

Here are the YouTube videos if you want more information.
Bigbug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5E4ZJQoNrA
Markiplier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5GfhGFVCFE
mrbuu423: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_a23-Btr5E
Kevin Kevin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ckIuA0U0JE

(Disclaimer: All YouTube videos/ideas belong to their rightful owners, I don't claim to own any of these videos etc.)

EDIT: I've updated the credits for the YouTubers and added links. Bagel the Bagel did not create the second strategy; mrbuu423 did (with the help of Zanarathas). Apologies for the misinformation!

Power + Final Tips

Here is a general power guide:
1 am: at least 85%
2 am: at least 60%
3 am: at least 40%
4 am: at least 25%
5 am: at least 15%

To extend the night, don't use the door or lights for the first 10-20 seconds as it is unlikely any animatronics will attack before then, even in the later nights. Keep constantly checking the camera, however, because if you wait too long in between checking (~5 seconds or longer), Foxy will be triggered out.

Another is to stop using any power when you have 3-5% left. But beware doing this in the later nights, as it does leave you very vulnerable to attack.

Remember: even if the power goes off, you still have a chance to win. I usually stop moving completely when the power goes off in hopes of extending the time before Freddy attacks, but that's likely placebo, and the FNAF Wiki seems to confirm this. But, if it feels comforting to do so, feel free...

To add an extra piece of information from the Wiki, Freddy's jingle can last up to 20 seconds, and the period in which the lights are completely off afterwards can also last up to 20 seconds.

A somewhat unorthodox way to prevent animatronic attacks is to leave your camera up. Eventually, any of the animatronics could force it down, but it could extend the night just enough for you to survive if you feel that an attack is imminent. I wouldn't normally advise doing this, as it does waste more power and is not a concrete protection.

Cheat code

Now, if you want to be lazy and skip nights, which I don't recommend, here's what to do.
On any night at any time, press c, d, and + (from the number pad) together, and you will immediately skip to 6 AM.
This takes away the fun of the game, but whether you're just starting out and want to go straight to the later nights, or you just like to cheat, or any other reason, do with this information what you will...

End

So you finally reached the end of my guide! This is not a fully polished guide, so if you see any mistakes, feel free to point it out. Constructive criticism is always welcomed! Feel free to ask any questions about the guide. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscrib- I'm just kidding, you don't have to do any of those things. You can if you want to though.

[fais87]

here is some cheat codes

1.c d 1 if you do this while on the main screen you will unlock the sixth night without making it to the 5th night (works in the 2nd game too)

2. c d 2 if you do this while on the main screen you will unlock custom nights (works in the 2nd game too)

3. like the others it works in fnaf 2 but lest get into fnaf 1 you will not be able to on keyboards without a + numpad anyways press c d + to skip a whole night (yes this is super op and will work on any night) and he did say it but i dont care because in fnaf 2 you cant just press cd+ youll have to put your cursor on to freddy in the psoter and then press c d+ for it to work bye.

[BirdSaire]

@jk.shazam ...Your physical number pad; that is, from the keyboard that you physically type on

[springtrap]

there is no number pad your pranking us

[pjax09]

eeeeeee

[Froggy_FJ]

Great tips the night I was stuck on (Night 6) was beaten the direct game after these tips.

[shanepaulwalker]

no cheat code :( yes yes strategy ;)

[shanepaulwalker]

CLOSE THE DOOR! CLOSE IT!!!!!!

[Nolife]

same kinger

[/-Mafioso-\]

i have gotten to night 4 no deaths

[ZandoFox]

>If he is at the East Hall corner, treat it as if he's at your door

I suspect this is the one piece of information I need to beat Night 5, I'll give it a go and report back!